Anne's Aid
by Thunderbyrd
Summary: Being trapped in a land that's dormant of talking frogs, toads, and other odd (and usually dangerous) creatures with no way to return home can tend to be taxing on one's troubled mind and emotions, as poor Anne Boonchuy finds out while experiencing a rather chilling nightmare one night. *One-Shot*


**After taking some time to binge-watch this new show, I knew I had to write a lil' something-something about it! ;)**

**Between having a fun plot, great humor, boatloads of heartwarming moments, and having the most **_**adorable**_ **character designs ever drawn in a cartoon, I can safely say that Amphibia is truly an endearing show and, the way I see it, a great spiritual successor to Gravity Falls in every sense of the word! I'm just surprised the entire first season just breezed by like that tho! :D**

**Basically, this story is meant to reflect on not only how much Anne misses her home, but also to show how strong her family-like relationship is with the Plantars above all (hence why the topic of Sasha and Marcy's whereabouts aren't nearly as touched upon just for this story). And considering I'm a sucker for writing fluffy family stuff, this was a given for me. ;)**

**Also, in terms of placing this episode, this story is set sometime before "Lily Pad Thai", just for precaution. Anywho, hope you all enjoy the story, everyone! :D**

**Amphibia is owned by Matt Braly and Disney. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun.)**

* * *

**ANNE'S AID**

The starry nights in Amphibia always seemed to possess a sort-of magical vibe to everyone living around the valleys, towns, and villages, especially to those who live in a not-so sleepy town known simply as Wartwood.

Between the sounds of chirping crickets, buzzing fireflies, and even the hooting of an owl from far away, the citizens of Wartwood always cherished these beautiful and peaceful nights as they all brought themselves back to their respective homes to get some much-deserved rest. Shops and places like Stumpy's restaurant and the Sundew family's local cafe were just closing up for the day, leaving the usually-bustling town to settle down as the sky soon turned into an odd, yet beautiful shade of dark green.

Everything in town was dark and still, apart from a few glowing butterflies daintily fluttering around the area like stars dancing on the ground. In addition, a few scattered mushrooms were seen shining with all sorts of colorful lights along the moss-covered marshland, giving the town a warm glow even in the darkest of nights.

Even a newcomer like Anne Boonchuy can agree that nights in this strange new world looked just as lovely than they did in her own world.

The comforting shine of the moon's heavenly white light crept through her window, filling up the basement she was dorming with a dim, but inviting and protective light. Her belongings, being her phone, backpack, her old day clothes, and her single yellow shoe, were placed in a small pile in the corner of the basement where she slept and lived during the night and day.

Much like the rest of Wartwood, the Plantar family residence was also tucked away for the night, with the tradition-obsessed grandfather Hopidiah, the hot-blooded pollywog girl Polly, and the sprightly frog boy Sprig all fast asleep in their rooms after another day of adventuring, fun, work, and shenanigans.

Meanwhile, Anne, now dressed in her nighttime attire, was doing her best to try to get herself some sleep as well upon the ratty, old, single-person mattress she slept on, but for some weird reason, no matter how hard she tried to keep her eyelids shut, she couldn't bring herself to fall asleep, even with the time being nearly midnight.

Something in her mind seemed to be keeping her from getting some proper rest. Something that's been pretty much dwelling on her psyche for some time.

Sprawled across her old mattress with the homemade plushie of Domino II clutched in her arms, Anne tossed and turned uncomfortably for a good long while, letting out tiny, inaudible grunts and murmurs as she tried her absolute darnedest to fall asleep, but to no avail. Anne kept up this charade for at least five more sleepless minutes until she opened her tired eyes once again, looking around her dimly-lit "room" with a pout.

'_C'mon, Anne...you gotta get some sleep, girl…_' she tried to coax within her mind, but her brain seemed to be thinking differently that night. Normally, she'd be dead tired after a day of having fun and cheating possible death, but for some reason, tonight wasn't proving to be her night.

Worrying thoughts were currently swimming around in her head; thoughts of past memories from before she arrived in Wartwood.

Thoughts of her old home world, Earth.

Don't get her wrong, part of her _is_ slowly warming up to the town's weird idealistics and mannerisms during her impromptu stay here. And, in fairness, Anne couldn't say that Amphibia was certainly a boring place to be in. Dangerous and insane, yes, but not boring or dull. But still, another part of her longed to go back to her own world once more.

Everywhere, from both the Plantar's home to all around Wartwood, seemed to have a...musky and damp scent, to say the least, like the smell of the outdoors after a long rain shower but with a hint of pond scum to go along with it. Granted, Amphibia was basically and justifiably a large marshland world, so it really couldn't be helped, but in spite of slowing getting used to this new world, Anne still grew very homesick as the days and weeks wore on.

Additionally, she was indeed truly grateful to find a new home and kinship with Sprig and his family, the only residents of this town that actually see her as more than just a weird beast. But sadly, not everybody in Wartwood was as accepting of Anne as the Plantars were. Everywhere Anne would go in town, the rest of the townsfolk still treated her like something of an outsider rather than an accomplice, with them calling her less-than-flattering names at every single passing.

As of lately, "scarecrow" seemed to be the most popular nickname they'd tend to call her.

Anne tried her very best to simply play it cool and to not have these names get to her, but even she can tend to have her feelings hurt by such rude commentary, leaving her to feel more like a pariah than anything. And it's things like that that made her miss home even more.

She missed the hustle-and-bustle of the city, the innovative and modern technology her world had to offer, her warm and safe home, her loving family, her cat, her stuff…

Her friends…

The whereabouts of her friends, Sasha and Marcy, were still unknown as of yet, and Anne was still dreadfully worried for their sakes. Sure, they may have egged her on to cut class and steal that music box, inadvertently sending and trapping them in this world in the process, but she still prayed to God that the two girls were still safe (wherever they were) and that soon, they'll be reunited once more and that they'll all be able to find a way back home...somehow.

Anne laid down on her back on the bed, her Domino stuffie still held protectively in her grasp. These pressuring and troubling thoughts kept gnawing at her like a tick and it was beginning to take a toll on her. She tried counting sheep, doing deep breathing exercises, clearing her mind, and even humming a soft lullaby to herself to put her mind at ease, but it was no use as these thoughts still continued plaguing her mind.

With these thoughts overstaying their welcome, it began to make Anne worry even more. What if she never came home? And what if she'd never be able to find her friends and bring them home as well?

Her folks are most likely worried sick by now regarding her mysterious absence, as well as Marcy and Sasha's own respective families in return. And considering that that dumb music box ain't working anymore, how else would Anne find a way back home again?

On top of that, as much as she wanted to go home, she also didn't wish to leave behind the Plantar family so soon as well. They have been so far treating her as if she was a full-blood Plantar herself. Hop Pop has always been there to teach her about the lifestyles and wonders of Amphibia, even though he can be a tad long-winded and folksy about it. Polly was a snappish little firecracker with an odd flair for violence, but she still has a good heart and she always sees Anne as a great big sister figure.

And Sprig? Well...to Anne, Sprig seems to be shaping up as an ideal best friend to her, maybe even more so than Sasha and Marcie were. She and Sprig always loved to go on reckless, fun misadventures, travelling around Wartwood and beyond and getting into all sorts of innocent troubles while trying to stay alive in this crazy world. Sure, Sprig was rambunctious and just as irresponsible as Anne can admittedly be, but he's still a loyal, funny, and true friend nonetheless at the end of the day.

The fact of leaving her second family of frogs behind on the off-chance she'd be heading back home made Anne feel terrible.

Anne kept brooding over these negative notions for so long that night, she didn't bother to notice a couple of sad tears slowly trickle down her cheeks, her mouth curled downwards into a pitiful, upset frown. A few sad squeaks and whimpers escaped her mouth unexpectedly as she tightened her grip on her Domino plushie like a security blanket. She truly wished this plushie was her real cat and not of a similarly-designed caterpillar larva instead, in spite of Sprig's generous intentions of crafting it for her.

She tried not to let her sad emotions become more soundly heard, on account of everyone in the house still asleep (and with the walls being pathetically thin to boot), but her forlorning emotions overwhelmed her greatly, causing her to softly weep from within the house's basement.

"I miss my Mom and Dad so much…" she sniffled softly to no one but herself, "...and I miss my real cat Domino, my home…*sniffle*...and my friends as well...I just hope Sasha and Marcy are okay, wherever they are in this crazy world…"

Anne sometimes hated crying. She was normally a fun-loving, excitable, and positive-thinking kind of girl; she shouldn't need to feel sadness of this caliber. And yet, she couldn't help but to still let a few stray, warm tears stream down his grief-stricken face regardless, too upset and homesick to care what may happen next.

Soon, after a few solitary minutes of gentle sobs and whimpers, Anne was finally able to slowly drift away from consciousness and managed herself to get some rest, albeit with a few tears still glistening down her damp cheeks. Suffice to say, tonight was going to be a rough night for poor Anne.

And unfortunately, that _was_ going to be the case as well for tonight.

* * *

_Pure black darkness engulfed the entire room around Anne, granting her inability to see where exactly she was, and if there was anybody or anything else around her._

_Anne tried walking around in the dark-filled area she was trapped in, but it seems like she wasn't actually going anywhere within this void of dark nothingness. She looked around to see if she can find anybody, but all she saw was pitch black. It was beginning to unnerve her, to be honest. _

"_H-Hello?" she called out, hoping to get something of a response back in return._

_Surprisingly, she did get a response in some way. A bright spotlight suddenly turned on above her, showering her in a blinding white light. Anne shielded her eyes from the unexpected shine hitting her like that, but after slowly adjusting to the light's brightness, she kept looking around for an actual person (or frog) to speak up to, hoping to escape this weird darkened area._

"_Is anyone there!?" beckoned Anne once again, "Hello!?"_

_Just then, another spotlight appeared a couple of feet behind Anne. She then turned around to see that there was indeed someone there to possibly help her out in this peculiar situation._

_There standing in the spotlight stood a small group of Wartwood's more notable residents, being One-Eyed Wally, Leopold Loggle, Felicia Sundew and her daughter Ivy, Mrs. Croaker and her pet spider Archie, and Toadie. And of course, standing in front of them with utmost swagger, stood Mayor Toadstool himself, sporting the biggest, most smug smile ever made. The rest of the villagers frogs directed their gazes towards Anne, which greatly unnerved her._

_Their eyes were beady and laced with mistrust, along with the deep, contempt-filled frowns that they all shot towards Anne. Still, she tried to play it off as cool as she could._

"_Uh...h-hey, guys? What's up?" she casually tried to ask, but all she got in return was the town's toad mayor simply waltzing up a bit closer to her as he began addressing back towards the group behind him without so much as a backwards glance._

"_Well, lookie here, citizens of Wartwood!" the rotund mayor mused with a mocking, lofty tone, "Why, it's the __**scarecrow**_ _herself!" His response was met with the rest of the townsfolk cackling with delight upon the mere mention of that insult._

_Anne recoiled in horror as the suddenly-loud cackles began reverbing around her, as if she was in an echo chamber. She froze with shock, unsure of what to say as the other townsfolk began shooting her insults as well._

"_Poor, pitiful creature just doesn't belong here at all…" sniffed Loggle self-righteously. Mrs. Croaker nodded in agreement._

"_Indeed, she's nothin' but a lanky beast is what!" she accused spitefully, holding Archie in her arms as the little spider began growling and flaring his fangs at Anne._

"_She'll probably just wind up eatin' our young like the monster she is…" Felicia assumed with a glare, protectively hugging a scared Ivy close to her. Anne was beside herself with shock to hear such barbs thrown at her. She knew the Wartwood citizens hardly had any nice things to say to her, but this seemed a bit too much!_

"_G-Guys, what're you talking about!? I'd never do that to any of you! I swear!" she tried to assure, "B-Besides, I don't like the taste of frog anyways! I promise!" Unfortunately, her reassurance fell onto deaf ears._

"_HA! Sure, that's so what a beast like you would say…" denied Toadie with a derisive sneer. Toadstool tutted in disappointment at Anne's display of peace-keeping._

"_Tsk, tsk, tsk, I say now, this is just sad...there's gotta be a way to settle a problem like this…" he thought to himself, before One-Eyed Wally came up with a brash, devilish idea that just might take care of their beast problem once and for all._

"_Ah' know!" suggest Wally with a devious smirk, "Ah' say we exterminate 'dis beast before she can do anymore harm!" Mayor Toadstool snickered darkly at that prospect as he rubbed his slimy hands together._

"_Good idea…" he drawled quietly, his Southern accent positively bubbling with venom. He turned back towards the townsfolk with demented glee. "Well, you heard him! Let's get this beast once and for all!" he rallied, his yellow-ish eyes turning a menacing shade of red upon statement. _

_That was enough of the other Wartwood residents to join in on the riot as they all suddenly began raising up pitchforks and lit torches high in the air. Their eyes also began turning blood red, much to Anne's complete and utter terror._

"_Yeah, let's put an end to her tyranny!" screeched Loggle._

"_Let's draw and quarter her!" snapped Felicia._

"_Send her down the river!" cracked Mrs. Croaker._

"_Skin her alive!" shrieked Toadie._

_Anne couldn't take anymore of this! Finding the strength to finally move her legs, she dashed away as fast as her legs can carry her, with Toadstool leading the furious mob after her! She didn't care which direction she was running in this dark void she was stuck in, she just wanted to escape this angry crowd before they'd wind up shredding her to bits!_

_The mob was storming behind her at an even pace, not even tiring from how hard they tried to keep up to Anne, whom in question, was sprinting as if her life depended on it (which it did), as to avoid facing the mob's wrath head-on._

_Anne began running faster and faster, more so than her skinny legs can be capable of doing, but she didn't care. Slowly, but surely, she was able to outrun the mob with all her might, leaving them far behind with every step. Anne panted heavily and her legs and feet ached, but she still kept tearing through the darkness in case the frog crowd would try and match her speed._

_Luckily for her, just up ahead, she saw something that made her well up with consolation._

_Three familiar-looking figures loomed ahead a few feet in front of Anne, and even with their true identities shadowed away within pitch black darkness, the young teen could still tell who these mysterious beings were upon first glance and began smiling for just a second, as if Heaven sent down a miracle just for her._

"_Sprig! Hop Pop! Polly! It's me, Anne!" she called out, her eyes tearing up with relief as she slowly managed to successfully lose the mob of angry frogs in order to catch up to her three friends. When Anne did finally run up to them, she skidded to a halt and immediately began begging on her knees, looking up at the three, hidden figures with grief and fright._

"_Guys, you gotta save me! I-I'm being chased by the townsfolk! They've got torches a-and pitchforks and...and...y-you guys gotta help me, please!" she pleaded with a scared frown, shivering with fear as she could already hear the mob running closer towards her location._

_The three froggy family members, still shrouded by darkness, didn't reply back. But then, as the three soon stepped forward to reveal themselves into the light, Anne was in for the biggest shock of her life when she saw what her friends looked like!_

_There stood what appeared to be the Plantar family, but from the looks of it, the three of them looked like they've been through the wringer multiple times in a row. Hopidiah and Sprig's clothes (as well as Polly's signature bow) were covered in dirt, rips, and tears. They all had scratches and cuts present along their faces, bodies, arms, legs, and flippers. It was as if they'd been part of the biggest beatdown of their lives, and they certainly weren't happy about it!_

_And, on top of that, they were giving Anne the most furious looks that the young Thai-American girl has ever seen in her life!_

"_G-Guys?" she gasped, terrified at the state of her second family as her relief was short-lived. Before she could demand what had happened to them, Hop Pop began getting up in Anne's face as he knelt down to her level, snorting hot air straight at her like a ticked-off bull._

"_Help you!?" Hop Pop asked with a tone filled with nothing but disdain, "Why would we want to help a pitiful hooligan like __**you!?**_" _Anne froze with absolute horror; did she seriously hear that correctly?_

"_Wh-Wh-What?" she trembled, looking at the family as if they've grown extra heads. Polly scoffed rudely as she too leered closer to the petrified Boonchuy girl from upon Sprig's head._

"_Yeah, why should we save a terrifying beast like you!?" she snapped. Anne grew more and more frantic with each passing second. She could hardly believe what she was hearing right now!_

"_B-B-Because we're friends! Friends help each other out! Please, what the heck is wrong with you guys!?" she tried to reason, but the Plantar family weren't having any of it._

"'_Friends help each other?' Pssh, yeah, sure! Why on Amphibia would we befriend a beast!?" Sprig spat out matter-of-factly. Polly nodded and sneered distrustingly._

"_Yeah, humans don't belong in this world, Boonchuy!" added Polly with a venomous tone, "As if we'd be friends with you anyways!"_

_At this point, Anne was ready to burst into tears from how confused, heartbroken, and scared she was. How or why on Earth would the Plantars suddenly act this way!? She thought they considered her a family (or at least the very least, tolerated her and were getting used to her presence), but to see them acting just as mean-spirited as the rest of the Wartwood populace was really freaking her out. She began breathing heavily to the point of hyperventilation, the urge to cry beginning to show itself again._

"_Guys, what's going on!? Why're acting like this!?" she gasped, shivering uncontrollably on the ground before she looked to Sprig, who in question was glaring down at the girl with silent contempt, "Sprig, you actually don't believe that I'm a monster, do you? We're supposed to be best friends! 'Spranne against the world', remember!?"_

_Sprig didn't say a word, he just gave Anne an unamused scowl. As if to show that she was being sincere, she crawled up to try and hold Sprig's hand, as if to show him that she was being serious..._

_*__**SMACK!**__* "HEY, OUCH!"_

_...but sadly, that only proved to be a bad idea as Hop Pop then came up to Anne, smacked her hand, forcefully ripped her away from Sprig, and shoved her harshly on the ground, giving her a protective and angered look with his fiery eyes._

"_**GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY KIDS, BEAST!**_" _Hop Pop boomed into her face, growling rabidly at her like a guard dog. Anne gasped and whimpered frightfully from down on the ground. She'd never seen the Plantars look so hostile before and it was really screwing with her mind._

_But before the teary-eyed and heartbroken Anne could say anything else, Sprig solemnly looked down at Anne with an almost-pitying look that only hurt Anne's heart even more._

"_Amphibia is not suitable for a creature like you, Anne…" he cryptically explained with a levelled tone, "Us Amphibians are good, humble folk. We don't need a freak like you besmirching our image…"_

_Anne, still on the verge of tears, could hardly believe the oddly-profound, but soul-shattering words that Sprig, her closest friend, just said to her. She could already feel her heart getting pierced as if someone with a sword stabbed her just instantly. "Sprig, why would you even say something like that!?" she wept, heavy-hearted._

_Sprig simply shook his head with pity, his blank, yet disappointed expression still apparent across his face. "It's the way of the world, beast…" he answered back in an act of spite, "Certain species are just not compatible with living in different worlds, and you are no exception! It's time to bring this problem to an end once and for all…"_

_After Sprig shared a stoic nod with Hop Pop and Polly, the three went on with their next step to rid Amphibia of this "beast". To Anne's horror, Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly all began to lift the girl onto her feet and grabbed her arms and legs, so to make sure she wouldn't try to run away. Anne cried out in fear and tried shaking the frog family off of her, but to no avail._

"_GAH! LET ME GO, YOU GUYS!" wailed Anne, wriggling violently to try and escape their strong grasp, but it was no use. The Plantars had a firm grip on their ally and they were letting up anytime soon. Hop Pop then let out a warning yell to ensure that the "beast" was captured at the moment._

"_HURRY, NOW! WE GOT THE BEAST OVER HERE!" yelled out Hop Pop into the dark nothingness. Soon, much to Anne's alarm, she could hear Mayor Toadstool and his frog mob approaching the threesome faster and faster, from far away their angry shouts echoing everywhere._

"_There she is!" shouted Toadstool, "Get her and rip her to shreds!" The rest of the mob roared in agreement as they all stampeded straight for Anne, who in question was frantically still trying to escape. Her blue eyes were wide with fear and her breathing patterns was course and uneven._

"_Sprig! Polly! Hop Pop! Please don't do this!" she begged as tears streamed down her fright-stricken face, "I'll make it up to you guys, I promise! Just please let me go! I wanna live!"_

_But it was no use, the mob aimed their pitchforks straight towards Anne as they thundered closer toward her like an incoming 18-wheeler. More insults and threats arose from the crowd in an act of blood-thirsty hatred, all aimed at poor, defenseless Anne._

"_Slice her!"_

"_Dice her!"_

"_Burn her!"_

_Anne was in full-blown manic mode right now. She thrashed within the Plantar family's strong grasp, unable to break herself free to avoid getting stabbed like a shish-kabob. All she could do was cry and struggle helplessly as the charging crowd were a mere few feet away from her, ready to take this beast matter into their own flippers._

_Sprig, grabbing onto her backside as the mob sprinted closer towards them, then said something that really made the devastated 13-year-old lose it then and there on the spot._

"_Farewell, beast...it __**hasn't**_ _been fun knowing you…"_

_That was the last straw for Anne. She thought that the Plantars were the only ones in Amphibia that actually liked her, and yet here they were, willingly sacrificing her to a bloodthirsty mob of all things! To witness her surrogate family in this new light sent poor Anne's mind in a dizzying spiral, causing her to produce even more hurt tears in the process. Powerless, defenseless, and betrayed by the second family she thought she was part of, there was only one thing that the poor, horrified, and heartbroken Anne Boonchuy could do as the mob drew nearer towards her._

_Scream bloody murder as the incoming mob began to strike her down with their sharp pitchforks._

"_**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**_"

* * *

"Anne! Anne! Anne, wake up!"

"Frog-dangit, girl, wake up!"

"Anne, stop screaming and wake the heck up already!"

Anne snorted wide-awake with a loud yelp. She was drenched in sweat and tears and she trembled haphazardly, doing her best to keep her senses and sanity in check…

...which didn't seem to be going as well once she spotted the familiar sight of two frogs and a pollywog standing next to her bedside, the oldest one of the bunch holding up a lantern to see through the somewhat-dark room.

Letting out a shriek of horror, Anne hopped out of best and scampered away from the concerned and confused Plantars into one far-off corner of the basement, huddled frightfully with tears still pouring down her pale face as she stared in horror at the family before her. The horrid images of her nightmare were still burned fresh insider her subconscious.

"S-S-Stay away from me, please! I d-don't wanna die! Please don't hurt m-me…" she squeaked, trembling fractiously with her sights still set on the frog family standing close by her bed. Her vision was blurred by how hard she was crying, so she could barely see the Plantar family's expressions.

She nearly thought they'd straight up act all hostile like they were in her nightmare, but in reality, they looked more worried and baffled rather than angry. Sprig and his sister and grandfather were shocked to see Anne look so terrified upon seeing them, which made them all heartbroken beyond belief.

"...A-Anne? What're you talking about? It's just us!" Sprig tried to reason, but his assuring words meant nothing to Anne at the moment as she kept cowering and crying softly in the corner of the dimly-lit basement. Crouching in an upright fetal position, Anne wept into her knees while still keeping a scared, watchful eye on the Plantars, should they try something funny.

The Plantars weren't sure how to properly respond to this reaction in any feasible way. They've never seen somebody so traumatized before like this...especially when that traumatized being was their own friend / family member. Hop Pop slowly stepped a few inches forward to try and console Anne in some way.

"Anne, come now, it's us. Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly." he beckoned softly, but he couldn't go any further without Anne continuing to freak out again.

"_No!_ You'll just feed me to a crazy mob! D-Don't hurt me, I beg you! I ain't g-gonna eat anyone, I p-promise!" she cried out, her last statements now sounding more little begging than anything.

The froggy family stood there in worried silence, all uncertain on how to handle this problem without getting too close to Anne. Plus, it didn't seem like she'd be willing to listen to reason at the moment, so it seemed like their luck was running short.

Polly, meanwhile, was bold enough to hatch up an idea of her own.

"Hang on, I got this…" she ushered, jumping out from Sprig's hands and bouncing towards Anne like a pudgy beach ball. Anne clearly noticed the pollywog boinging towards her and grew even more terrified, fully knowing how violent and crazy Polly can be sometimes.

"No-no-no-no-no-no! Stay away! Stay away! _Stay away!_" she yelped, scrunching her body protectively to try and shield herself from any oncoming attacks. Part of her knew it must've been silly to be scared of a _pollywog_ of all things, but considering this was Polly that she was talking about, she knew she was in deep trouble now.

But violence wasn't on Polly's mind, believe it or not. As she hopped up on Anne's crouched-up knees, with the girl shivering from having the pollywog jump on her and thinking she'd might attack her, Anne was met with a total surprise when Polly did something she'd hardly expect her to do.

Giving her a hug.

Indeed, Polly was giving Anne's torso the biggest hug she could give, considering that she was roughly the size of a baseball and her stubby arms weren't able to reach all the way around Anne's body, but even so, it managed to ease down Anne's fear a bit, quieting down her shouts and screams to soft, confused whispers.

Hop Pop and Sprig were floored to see Polly resort to such a compassionate resolution like that, let alone the fact that it somewhat _worked_ as well! But, not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, they both shared a shrug and walked up to the frozen, whimpering girl, joining in with Polly as they too gave Anne the most comforting group hug that Anne has ever felt in her life.

The hug did help her grow less scared of the Plantars, sure, but the overwhelming affection was enough to bring more and more tears in her eyes, causing her to blubber and sob pathetically in the process. The Plantars didn't seem to mind, however, as they all rubbed and patted her back to calm her down, while whispering reassuring words at her.

"Shh, shh, just let it out, Anne…" hushed Hop Pop, rubbing tiny circles around Anne's back.

"Nobody's gonna hurt you…we're here for you..." assured Sprig, just as soft as Polly buried herself deeper into Anne's body, not easing up with her hug.

Anne didn't know what to make of this, to be honest. The Plantars in her dream were downright aggressive and back-stabbing, but in reality, here they were giving her a big, warm hug, all hoping to calm her down any way they can. It was all too much for Anne, as her overwhelmingly-upset emotions led her to simply resort to one solution to this mess.

To cry like there was no tomorrow.

Waterfalls of tears poured down her reddening cheeks as the distraught, half-Thai girl belted out the most anguished wail the Plantars have ever heard in their lives. The poor girl was now an incomprehensible mess, spluttering and sobbing heavily without the ability to think or speak clearly. She obviously couldn't help but to cry, especially after going through such a horrific dream like that, but the Plantars did complain or chide Anne once. They just willingly kept hugging Anne tightly, quietly encouraging her to just let all her sad feelings out of her system.

Anne, in spite of being in the midst of a heart-wrenching cry session, certainly felt the deep and comforting love that the Plantar family was showering her with, which only made her sob even more, only to cultivate into coughs afterwards. Luckily, Hop Pop patted Anne's back to help force away the coughs, thus putting Anne's sobs and cries at ease.

Minutes ticked away, with only the sounds of a crying human girl being heard throughout the home. With the Plantars huddled around, comforting their human friend inside the dark, dank basement during late hours, time has seemed to have stopped for a while, with nothing else said between Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly. Right now, Anne was the one who needed moral support.

Soon enough, Anne's crying slowly began to settle down into whimpers and squeaks instead of loud and uncontrollable wailing like before. The Plantars eased down in relief, all glad that Anne was able to release her emotions, even though Anne was still in need of comfort. As Anne controlled her sadness down to soft, choked-back sobs, it was Sprig that decided to be the first to speak up out of the rest of his family towards the human ally.

"Anne, what just happened? W-Why were you so scared of us?" he asked in a hurt, confused voice. Anne wiped away at her drenched face, shivering upsettingly upon having to relive that memory for a second time.

"I-I-I kinda had a nightmare, wh-where I was getting chased b-by the residents of Wartwood...t-they kept calling me names like 'beast' and 'monster'...*sniffle*...and then, I s-saw you guys and then...y-y-you all captured me and l-let the mob attack m-me! You g-guys even called m-me a monster, t-too!"

The Plantars all collectively gasped at such a grisly outcome, even if it wasn't real. They all gazed up sadly as Anne did her best not to cry again, though a few more tears managed to form into her eyes regardless. "Anne, we'd never call you such words like that!" Sprig replied worriedly, "And we'd never let a mob try and hurt you!"

"Yeah, even _I'm_ not that cruel!" added Polly. Hop Pop gave the gloomy girl a nod.

"The kids are right, Anne...you know we'd wouldn't do any of that to ya, and we know you wouldn't hurt or eat us as well.." he compromised tenderly, although Anne wasn't entirely convinced.

"I-I-It just felt so real…" she gasped out, "I-I know my status here isn't that great, but th-they actually wanted to k-kill me, Hop Pop! They w-were gonna stab me with pitchforks a-and light me on f-fire and stuff!"

Hop Pop winced at the thought of that. Sure, before Anne was properly acquainted in Wartwood, the townsfolk were willing to form a mob to stop this "beast" from possibly ravaging their home and hurting their loved ones, but now that Anne has been dorming here for a little while now, they've mostly cooled down and weren't about to partake in another lynch mob anytime soon. Regardless, the town still wasn't really feeling at ease with Anne around them, with them now resorting to name-calling and petty insults instead of outright violence this time.

Not to say that that part with the insults didn't hurt Anne in a way, though.

Hop Pop and the kids weren't sure of what else to do to cheer up Anne, aside from just giving her some comforting hugs and reassuring words. They all hated seeing Anne look so depressed. However, Sprig managed to whip up an idea of his own to cheer up his bestie!

"Hey, I might know what'll make Anne feel better!" he gasped. Hop Pop, Polly, and the weepy Anne all looked at Sprig with confusion and mild intrigue.

"You do?" Polly asked skeptically. Sprig nodded confidently.

"Yep!" he chirped, looking up at Anne with hopeful and supportive eyes, "C'mon, Anne. Let's head into the living room to get this plan started." Anne wiped away her tears.

"Living room?" she asked, perplexed. Sprig nodded.

"Yeah, it'll be better that doing it here in a damp, ol' basement!" explained Sprig, extending a hand towards Anne, encouraging her to follow him, "What do you say, Anne? Do you trust me with this?"

At first, Anne wasn't sure what to think. The memory of Dream Sprig was still haunting her mind from how cold-hearted he was, but right now, looking down at Reality Sprig, she could sense a great deal of warmth coming from both him and his family, showing that this version of the Plantar family do care for her safety. And in spite of still feeling sad and scared, Anne felt the need for some more comfort after her nightmare, so it couldn't hurt to follow through with Sprig's idea, right?

Bravely inhaling some air, Anne's response was that of a silent, affirmative nod. Sprig beamed and looked back at Hop Pop and Polly. "Alrighty then, I'll also need your help with this plan as well, guys." he explained to them seriously, "We'll need to work together to give Anne as much comfort that she'll need!"

Polly raised an unamused eyebrow. "Aren't we already doing that _now?_" she cracked. Sprig was undeterred by his younger sister's sarcasm.

"Trust me, guys. This'll work! I got this idea from seeing something on Anne's phone sometime ago!" he assured.

Polly still seemed unsure of this idea, though Hop Pop himself was willing to go along with his grandson's plan. Anne's happiness was top priority tonight. "Very well, Sprig, we trust ya. What do ya want us to do, boy?" Hopidiah replied, allowing to go through with Sprig's idea.

Sprig smiled widely, excited to have the others agree with his idea to cheer Anne up. And with that said, Sprig carefully lifted Anne back onto her feet and led her, Hop Pop, and Polly out of the basement and upstairs to the living room, ready to put his idea into motion.

* * *

"Uh, Sprig, are ya sure this is what's supposed to comfort humans?"

"'Course I'm sure, Hop Pop! Anne's phone hasn't lied to me yet!"

"Ehh, if you're sure, sonny…"

"I don't see why anyone wouldn't want so many blankets, though...I think she'd be fine with just one, to be honest…plus, we already rolled her up in a blanket like a sushi roll!"

"Just following what the picture says, Polly...simple as that!"

"Whatever you say, bro…"

As midnight was slowly approaching, Sprig had tasked Hop Pop and Polly in helping him gather a good assortment of blankets and pillows to cover and place around Anne, like some sort of fluffy fort, as she was sitting on the couch in the family living room, with a big, freshly-made cup of hot chocolate steaming in her hands. Her smartphone was seen propped up on the coffee table, currently playing an episode of "Suspicion Island" before her.

Evidently, Sprig had the idea of cheering friends up from looking at a comic strip while he and Anne were browsing through her phone one day while looking at funny pictures ("memes" as she called them), and the way the comic's idea of making sure the sad friend is kept warm, well-fed, entertained, and loved struck a chord in his mind, which made him think that one of the best ways to calm someone down is for them to be wrapped in blankets, given a warm treat, and to binge-watch their favorite TV show to help ease their troubled nerves.

And indeed, to what Polly said, Anne was now all wrapped up in a warm comforter, though with both arms free to handle her drink without trouble. With the human girl all snug as a bug in a rug, Sprig had completed his plan to give Anne some much-needed physical comfort.

With Anne feeling warm and secure, with her tears now gone and her sadness subsided, she began to feel a little bit better. The nightmare still sent shivers down her body, but at least she was able to look the Plantars in the eye again without recoiling away from them. Sprig had placed the last blanket across Anne's lap and gave her a soft smile of reassurance up at her.

"Feeling a little better, Anne?" he asked. Anne took a sip from her warm drink and gave him a tiny nod.

"Mm-hmm…a little..." was the simple, but gracious reply she gave him. Sprig nodded back happily, glad to know his idea actually worked. Hop Pop joined Sprig to his side, cracking his sore back from carrying so many blankets back and forth, especially when it was past his usual bedtime.

"Ugh, I'm still thinkin' this a bit excessive…" he huffed. Sprig flashed him a smirk.

"Hey, it still worked, right?" he joshed, gesturing to the wrapped-up human on the couch. The smile she was sporting was small, but did illuminate a warm, thankful aura, which _did _ensure Hop Pop that Anne was beginning to feel better in a way.

Before anything else could be said, Anne placed her mostly-finished cup onto the table, looking at the three froggy beings with apologetic eyes as she was feeling the need to finally get some things of her chest.

"Guys...I-I'm really sorry I freaked all of you out with that...outburst I had in the basement." she sighed, looking down at her feet and feeling quite awkward and ashamed for such a display.

However, much to her surprise, the Plantars weren't upset or mad in the slightest. They all scrambled onto the couch (with Hop Pop next to Anne's right side, Sprig on the left, and Polly hopping on top of Anne's head) and they all looked up at the solemn Anne with warm and friendly expressions.

"Anne, ya got nothin' to be sorry for…" assured Hopidiah with a fatherly grin, "It was just a silly nightmare was all…"

Anne frowned unsurely. "It still felt real, though…" she added, "Being chased by the town like that...it's actually really horrifying…" She then let out a depressed groan, the troubling thoughts still circling and clouding her mind like a swirling hurricane.

"I don't know if I'll ever fit in here in Amphibia…" she admitted. Even if she wasn't showing any tears this time, the sadness was clearly present in her voice, which only brought back concerning emotions into the Plantar family's minds and hearts. Sprig leaned over and placed a brotherly hand on Anne's right shoulder, giving her a small, hopeful smile.

"Aw, c'mon, Anne...you shouldn't worry about the others here think of you." he assured softly. Hop Pop nodded.

"Sprig's right." he agreed with a warm smile, "Folks here in Wartwood tend to be old-fashioned and scared of new ideas and circumstances at first, believe me. I'm sure in due time, they might be able to warm up to you and will back off with the name-callin'."

Anne certainly did appreciate them giving her such a hopeful thought like that, though she still seemed unsure about the idea of the Wartwood frogs accepting her as a friend, not a beast. "Ugh, I dunno, guys...as nice as that sounds, it kinda seems unlikely to me…" she admitted solemnly. Sprig, however, waved off her discouragement with a confident, but still warm-hearted grin.

"Well, I'd say just give them time. Right now, they don't know the real Anne Boonchuy like _I _do!" he declared with friendly gusto. Anne sniffled softly and looked at Sprig quizzically.

"W-What do ya mean?" she asked.

"I mean," announced Sprig sincerely, "is that I know you're not a monster or a scarecrow, Anne. You're a fun-loving, kind-hearted, and brave girl and a great friend to us!" Anne blushed bright red upon hearing such a lovely comment directed towards her, and once again, Hop Pop and Polly wound up fully agreeing with Sprig's statement.

"Indeed, Anne...sure, I'll admit you can be a rebel and a handful at times, but you're still a good kid and I'm proud to have ya in my home…" Hop Pop proudly added, a tender smile growing on his wrinkly, waxy face.

"Yeah, ya got spunk, girl!" cheered out Polly adorably. At this point, Anne couldn't stop the growing smile that was dominating her face as she looked fondly at her surrogate family with love and gratitude. She'd never thought she could ever wind up being seen with such kind-hearted attributes before, especially coming from a family of walking, talking frogs no less.

"Y-You all mean that?" she asked hopefully, feeling the need to cry once again. Sprig nodded happily, a cute smile bursting across his face.

"Of course we do, Anne!" he assured, "Every word of it!" Sprig felt a twinge of pride and assurance in his heart once he saw Anne sporting a kind-hearted smile, filled with utmost gratitude for being part of such a supportive family.

"Still though, Anne," Sprig continued with genuinity, "I wouldn't worry too much about the townsfolk. As far as _we_ know, you're not a beast and the frogs here in Wartwood are too blind to not know that. Besides, _we_ think you belong here, anyways…" Hop Pop wholeheartedly agreed with a nod of his head.

"The boy's right. You may be a human, but you got Plantar blood in you for sure!" he proclaimed, his tone filled with nothing but pride.

It was then when Anne wound up shedding tears yet again, except this time, they were _happy _tears instead! While Anne can certainly be something of a rebellious and self-assured soul, she does possess a loving heart and is loyal to anyone she cares for, especially when it came to the Plantars. The Plantar family may not have been the most popular (or even well-liked) family in Wartwood, but if there was one attribute that they held dear to them, it would be their undyingly hospitality.

To be with such an accepting family welled Anne up with such happy emotions, to the point where she nearly forgot about her status with the rest of the town. She immediately brought the family in for a group hug, which they happily returned, with Anne snug in the middle, sniffling with the most touched expression on her face ever made.

"...Thanks, guys...that means a lot..." she wept, until her smile then curved back down into a frown again, "I just wish I knew where my other friends were, and that i-if they're okay as well...I can't exactly go back home without them with me. Their parents must be worried to death…"

Hopidiah sighed gravelly. "Well, I can certainly understand that..." he admitted, "Amphibia's a pretty hectic place, even for us frogs here. Lots of predators and animals out there, y'know...?" He then realized he must've heightened Anne's worries with what he said, as shown by the girl's shell-shocked and concern-laced expressions. Sprig and Polly's unimpressed looks also seemed to cause Hop Pop to blush in embarrassment.

"Uh, well, um...anyways, I'm certain those two friends of yours will be okay..." he tried to assure, in spite of Anne's lingering doubts.

"How can you be sure, Hop Pop?" she asked, her tone sounding more sad than bitter, "It's like you said, Amphibia's a dangerous place. How can a human survive in a place like this?"

Poor Hop Pop didn't know what to say after that. Swallowing his tongue, he simply hemmed and hawed a bit to try and see how else he can piece together his shoddy pledge until Polly came up with an oddly thought-provoking comment of her own.

"Well, _you_ managed to survive in Amphibia for a while, Anne..." she pointed out matter-of-factly. Anne blinked, nearly losing her train of thought for a second.

"Huh?" she asked. Sprig, knowing where Polly was going with this, stepped back up to support her statement.

"Yeah, since you've been here, Anne, we fought and went up against stuff like huge preying mantises, giant moths, and other crazy creatures and stuff. It seems like we get an adventure every eleven minutes or so!" he chirped, "And all those times, you'd managed to use both brain and brawn to get us out of trouble!"

Even Hop Pop managed to give Anne a soft grin. "Indeed, Anne, you are admittedly one tough cookie!"

Anne felt the gears in her head beginning to turn, realization starting to hit her without warning. "You really think I'm...tough?" she asked in surprise. She was met with a group of nods and grins.

"Absolutely," Sprig cheered, "It's as plain as the bump on your face!"

"'Nose', Sprig, it's called a 'nose'..." Hop Pop flatly added, though Sprig didn't seem to be bothered.

Anne, meanwhile, was floored upon the idea of being considered to be "tough". She was normally a laid-back, but fun-loving person. But, tough? That just seemed unlikely. And yet, she she was. Still standing after spending a couple of weeks living in Amphibia alongside her new friends. To be fair, she'd never thought she would've made it this far living in a world of talking frogs, toads, and other amphibians.

Then again, she'd never imaged being stuck in a world like this, period.

But still, Anne considered herself lucky to escape such perilous misadventures unscathed and still standing strong with the Plantars. However, she felt herself deflate once more as she recalled a glaring problem with her quirks.

"But...the only reason because of that is because of my dumb plans backfiring all the time..." she admitted sadly, "How can I be tough when I keep making mistakes?"

Her response was that of a friendly pat on the back, courtesy of Hop Pop. "Because in spite of those mistakes," he wisely added, "you always make sure to put things right in the end and to correct your mistakes as well. It may not be easy, but admitting your problems and attempting to right your wrongs are very brave virtues when all is said and done."

"Yeah!" put in Sprig, "I mean, sure, the Plantar family name isn't exactly popular around these parts..."

"Basically, we're just a big, ol' laughingstock..." Polly added nonchalantly.

"But even so," cut in Hop Pop, "Plantars are still tough in both will and heart. We may make mistakes, but we still never give up and we're always willing to do right from wrong. And Anne, as far as I know, you're just as tough as any member of the Plantar family any day of the week..."

"Plus, you also mentioned that your friends were pretty tough as well!" Polly reminded, "You said that one of them took cheerleading and was a master sweet-talker. What was her name again, 'Stella' or something?"

Anne chuckled softly. "Heh, her name was 'Sasha', Polly..." she corrected with a smile, "And yeah, I guess in a way, she and Marcy are both pretty tough themselves..."

Sasha and Marcy were both thick-skinned girls, as Anne already knew. They were both crafty and they always seemed to come up with a great plan whenever they both landed themselves in trouble. On top of that, they were natural born charmers, which meant they can talk their way out of disaster as well. Anne may not be entirely sure if her relationship with the two girls was officially on the rocks or not, but deep down, Anne knew the girls were tough enough to brave through any situation.

Part of Anne still wished that the two of them would still be okay should they reunite and find a way to return home once again, but for now, all she can do was pray for their safety. They can certainly be manipulative and sassy to a fault, but Sasha and Marcy were still human, and at the end of the day, nobody deserved to be helplessly stranded far from home forever.

Even so, regardless of the past misadventures Anne has experienced since her tenure here in Amphibia, from getting chased by giant lake snakes and dealing with cannibal frogs to learning that there's more to the Plantar family than meets the eye, Anne began to see Amphibia as something as a second home to her. Sure, the townsfolk's untrusting gazes and words truthfully did get to her, but maybe the Plantars were right; maybe they just needed a bit more time. She's already made firm friends with Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop, so there has to be a chance for the rest of the town to befriend her soon, right?

Anne may not be a perfect girl, but her heart normally is in the right place, and she does have good intentions from time to time. Basically, she couldn't help but to be grateful to be included into the Plantar's home and lifestyle, even if she was a human.

"G-Guys?" she gingerly piped up. The Plantars looked up at her, giving her their full attention as Anne sighed softly and gave them all a soft smile.

"Thanks for putting up with me, lately. I know I'm not the most ideal roomie or even the most sensible creature here in your world, but I'm thankful you guys still allow me to live here until I can get back home again..."

The Plantars all shared a sweet smile, gazing up at Anne with familial love. "Nothin' to it, Anne. As far as we know, you're an honorary Plantar through and through..." Hop Pop assured with pride, causing Anne to tearfully beam right back at him, her heart fluttering from so much love that the Plantars were showing her.

"Yeah, not bad for a human sleeping on a yucky mattress in our basement, eh?" chuckled Polly, to which Sprig found himself smiling widely as a thought struck him.

"Well, that's gonna change soon!" he reminded giddily, "Because soon, she'll be getting a new b-OOF!"

Sprig's sentence was abruptly cut short before a rather shocked Hop Pop hastily leaned over and clamped the boy's mouth shut with his hand. Anne raised an eyebrow, unsure of what just happened.

"I'll be getting a new 'boof'?" she asked in confusion, "What the heck is that?"

Hop Pop stammered. "Uh, uh, nothin', Anne. Uh, excuse us for a moment!" he hastily replied before dragging Sprig off the couch and away from Anne out of earshot as he and Polly (who then joined the two older frogs as well) both gave the boy irritated looks.

"Sprig, I thought we agreed to keep this a secret…Anne can't know about this until it's ready!" whispered Hop Pop as low as he can, as not to let Anne overhear. Polly nodded and shot her older brother an annoyed look.

"Yeah, Sprig, this is supposed to be a surprise for Anne! Besides, we ain't done building it yet!" she added just as quietly, though her always-bratty personality was still flaring as well. Sprig blushed in embarrassment and gave his family a shy smile.

"Heh-heh, sorry…" he apologized quietly, rubbing the back of his head, "Guess I got too excited about the idea of building Anne a proper be-"

"Yes, yes, I know!" interrupted Hop Pop, trying to cover up Sprig's near-accidental reveal, "Just simmer down already!" The three frogs all broke up their impromptu huddle, with Hop Pop softly sighing a breath of relief before they all began rejoining Anne on the couch in their usual spots from before.

'_Can't let Anne know about the bed we're all making for her…_' vowed Hopidiah to himself, '_It'll be better than sleepin' on an old mattress all the time…_'

With the Plantars now sitting alongside and around the snuggled-up Anne on the couch, the girl suddenly found herself thinking of something else. Something that helped her travel to this world in the first place.

"There's just one thing that confuses me, though..." Anne mused.

"What's that, Anne?" Hop Pop asked.

"That old music box..." reminded Anne, "I'm not sure how it could've sent me here the very second I opened it, and when I tried opening it again later, it didn't work..." Sprig and Polly seemed to look confused as well, both thinking up a logical way on how the music box could've done something like that.

Neither of them, nor Anne, bothered to notice the nervous, shifty expression Hop Pop was showing at the moment.

"Maybe it's magic, I guess?" Sprig reasoned hopefully, "Sounds about right, right?" Polly answered to Sprig's guess by imitating a loud buzzer.

"EHH, it's probably witchcraft. That's more realistic than magic!" she countered. Anne still seemed puzzled.

"Hmm, there's gotta be a good reason...Hop Pop, what do you think?" she asked, looking back at the elderly frog with a hopeful look. Hopidiah gulped and tried to regain his composure so that the others wouldn't be put off and suspicious.

"Uhh, I'm sure it's just hocus-pocus, kiddos..." he tried to wave off, letting out a yawn afterwards, "I wouldn't think too hard about it, and besides, it's way past our bedtimes now. We'll all just camp here with Anne, in case she gets another nightmare now..."

The others all looked confused from Hop Pop's odd answer, but given as the grandfather clock in the room began ringing out loudly, signaling that it was currently midnight, they all decided it best to sleep on it and worry about at another time. As they all exchanged yawns and sleepy looks, they all began cuddling up and wrapping themselves with blankets, deciding to just bunk on the couch for the night to keep Anne company just in case.

But before Anne would be swayed into a more peaceful sleep, she had one last thing to say to her second family. "Thanks again for being by my side, guys...I don't know what I could do without you all..." she quietly praised in an honest, touched tone. And naturally, she was met with three caring expressions in return.

"That's what true friends do, Anne..." Sprig simply replied with a smile, "Plantars look out for each other all day and all night..."

"Indeed..." Hopidiah announced, before he found himself lazily slouching into the blanket pile and closing his eyes, "Now, let's...*yawn*...all get some shut-eye now...g'night, kids..."

"Good night, Hop Pop! Good night, Anne and Polly!"

"'Night, bro..."

"Good night, lil' buddy..."

Soon enough, one by one, Anne and the Plantars began drifting away into a easy, restful slumber, free from any nightmares and disturbances for now. However, just as Anne was about ready to escape reality in order to receive some rest, a tiny and quit voice by her side kept her awake for a few seconds longer.

"Anne?"

"Yeah, Sprig?"

Sprig sighed softly. "I'm sorry I called you an 'ugly monster' from when we first met. I should've known you really weren't a monster…" he apologized in a quiet, shy voice, clearly looking very sorry for his actions from before. To his surprise, however, Anne replied to his sorrowful apology with a tender smile.

"It's okay, buddy…" she assured quietly, "I guess in fairness, you really couldn't have helped it. Anyways, I'm just happy you and your fam here decided to give me a chance…" She then noticed that Sprig still seemed to feel upset for his earlier assumption, leading her to draw him closer into a side hug while shining a smile down at him.

"Besides, nothing's gonna stop this duo of awesome friends! 'Spranne against the world', right?" she asked confidently, bringing up a fist to offer him a friendly fist bump. Sprig then felt a smile tug away at his lips, happy to know his friendship with Anne was still holding up strong with just a single uttering of their team catchphrase.

He returned the fist bump with no hesitation. "Spranne against the world…" he returned, prompting the two friends to laugh quietly, as not to awake Hop Pop and Polly from their deep slumber. And then, as the stars began twinkling outside, Anne and Sprig ended on that note by both contently falling asleep, ready to see what the day will bring once they wake up.

The entire Plantar family were all soon fast asleep in the living room, too enamored in slumber to bother what would be happening in the outside world for now. Though while they were sleeping, Sprig seemed to also be reflecting upon life now that Anne Boonchuy, a human from another world, was now living with them.

Deep down, the Plantars would've never believed they'd wind up befriending and taking in such an odd creature as one of their own. Sure, Amphibia was home to scary, dangerous, and bizarre creatures, but according to the rest of Wartwood's populace, they all seemed to think Anne was the most strangest thing they'd ever encountered. Admittedly, Sprig and his family were just as off-putted upon seeing Anne roam about their world like this (with Sprig himself calling the girl "ugly" upon introduction), but in due time, he along with Hop Pop and Polly soon learned to warm up to Anne greatly as she continued residing at their home, joining them on their wacky misadventures.

Heck, she's practically family at this point through the eyes of himself, his little sister, and his grandfather!

And who knows? Hopefully in the future, the rest of Wartwood will soon learn to accept Anne into their community one day.

But for now, the Plantars were just content to know that Anne was going to be okay now. It pained them all to know that they and Anne may have to cross paths with them in the future, but regardless, they all continued to try and view the positives from this situation. Sprig, Hop Pop, and Polly knew Anne wanted desperately to get back home as soon as possible, to be back safe and sound in her own world.

But still, they wanted Anne to be happy and safe more than anything in the world. Sure, they'd all miss her like there was no tomorrow once they all had to part ways, but for right now, they just wanted to continue having fun, going on wild adventures, and making new, great memories with Anne until then.

So long as Anne was happy, the Plantars were happy, and that's all the close-knit froggy family wanted for now.

And to Sprig Plantar, he was Anne's friend, and Anne was his friend in return. In his mind, that's all that mattered. And should the two wind up having to separate their paths one day, no matter what, they'd still be great friends regardless.

"Don't worry, Anne…" Sprig quietly promised as he too was succumbed to slumber as well with the rest of his family, "We'll find you a way to get back home again…somehow..."

**THE END**

* * *

**And so ends my first Amphibia fic! :)**

**My apologies if many parts of this story felt a tad rushed or sloppy in some way, I was hoping to get this done around when the Season One finale has still aired, which proved to fruitless since Season One just whooshed by us in a flash. Anyways, before I go, here's some tidbits regarding certain scenes of this story...**

**-As I said in the top part before this fic, I was hoping to write something that has shown how strong and unbreakable Anne's budding relationship is with Sprig and his family. I wanted to add an occurrence that heightened Anne's fears of being labelled as an outsider to the citizens of Wartwood, and the thought of her dreaming about being chased by a mob of the town's populace seemed ideal to me in a way, especially with the part of the Plantars turning against her to really bring home the fear into Anne's mind.**

**-The part with Sprig getting the idea of "ways to cheer up a sad person" is inspired by a wholesome Bored Panda comic, featuring such scenes as sushi roll blankets, binge-watching, and snacking to help cheer up a sad friend in need.**

**-I obviously don't need to explain the part where Hop Pop got all nervous once the Calamity Box gets brought up, I assume? ;)**

**-And lastly, the bit about Anne getting a new bed is indeed foreshadowing to one part of "Cracking Mrs. Croaker", where Anne actually has received a proper bed to sleep in instead of just an old mattress.**

**Hopefully soon, I do plan on making another fic or two starring these lovable goobers again, though with other ongoing stories so far (being two multi-chapter stories regarding Gravity Falls and OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes respectively and some other one-shots to boot), making another Amphibia may take a little while longer for now.**

**But still, I hope you've enjoyed the story in the end. Hopefully soon, Anne **_**may**_ **find a way to find her other friends and they'll all get home soon (tho judging by the endings of both "Bizarre Bazaar" and "Reunion", it looks like it'll take a while for that to happen), so we'll have to wait and see! ;)**

**Until then, thanks so much for reading and I hope everyone here has a great day! Feedback and criticism of any kind is welcomed and encouraged!**

**~Thunderbyrd**


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